1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to the construction of staircase balustrades and, more particularly, to components and systems for pivotally attaching a baluster to a hand rail, a shoe rail or a cap rail in a staircase rail system so as to adjust for the rake angle of an individual staircase.
2. Background
Staircases typically include a staircase rail system for decoration and safety. In the staircase rail system, a row of vertical posts is conventionally topped by a hand rail along the edge of the staircase. These posts, commonly termed balusters, are supported by relatively larger posts known as newels. The staircase member upon which a user places his or her foot is referred to as a tread. The angle of incline of a staircase is referred to as the rake. Thus, a staircase in which successive treads ascend steeply is said to have a high rake.
Each baluster is fixed to the hand rail at its upper end and to the shoe rail or tread at its lower end. This arrangement is termed an open tread staircase. Alternatively, each baluster may be fixed at its lower end to a cap rail on the staircase. This arrangement is properly termed a closed tread staircase.
In the past, it was necessary for a worker at the jobsite to accurately measure the angle between the hand rail, shoe rail or cap rail, and each of the balusters and to hand fit the balusters individually to match the rake of the particular staircase. The construction of a staircase in this traditional manner results in a high quality product with a very desirable finished appearance that has consumer appeal. However, traditional construction requires a great deal of skill and care and can be quite time consuming.
To facilitate staircase construction, systems of adjustable balusters which are pivotally attached to their rails have been disclosed, many of which can be pre-assembled for delivery to the jobsite. While offering significant improvements over traditional systems which require hand-fitting each baluster, previous adjustable balustrade systems are relatively complicated to manufacture and assemble. Also, the finished staircase produced with these previous adjustable systems does not have the same quality finish or precisely resemble the decorative appearance of traditional staircases. Consequently, these previous adjustable systems fall short of the high quality, finished appearance of a traditional hand-crafted stair rail.
Additionally, most of the previous adjustable systems are limited to use with balusters of rectangular cross-section. Because pin top balusters are associated with very fine traditional staircases, they are generally preferred by consumers.
Therefore, a need still exists for an improved hinge assembly for pivotally attaching balusters to handrails and shoe rails in a pre-assembled adjustable staircase rail system. The improved hinge assembly and staircase system should be relatively easy to manufacture and assemble, and preassembled for delivery to the jobsite. Ideally, the improved hinge assembly and staircase system presents a quality finished appearance similar to traditional hand-fitted staircases, and performs well with pin top balusters.